Suspension for noise suppressing ear cups



Sept. 29, 1970 i J. N. SIMPSON ETAL 3,530,509

SUSPENSION FOR NOISE SUPPRESSING EAR CUPS Filed May 15, 1968 INVENTORSJACK N. SIMPSON .8 WILLIAM R. BOHNt'R ATTORNEY 3,530,509 SUSPENSION FORNOISE SUPPRESSIN'G EAR CUPS Jack N. Simpson, Sinking Spring, and WilliamR. Bohner,

Reading, Pa., assignors to ESB Incorporated, Philadelphia, Pa.

Filed May 15, 1968, Ser. No. 729,257 Int. Cl. A42b 1/06 US. Cl. 2209 3Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A suspension for noise suppressing earcups or mulfs in which T-slots are provided in the base plates of theear cups, through which slots the end loops of a headband are fastenedto provide a firm, adjustable support for the ear cups. The outersurfaces of the ear cups are preferably coated with a highly polishedmetallic coating to reflect away heat from the sun or other radianenergy as encountered in industry.

This invention relates to improvements in a suspension for a pair ofnoise suppressing ear cups or car muffs. More particularly, it relatesto a means for anchoring the end loops of a headband to enable theheadband to be easily attached to or detached from the base plates ofthe ear cups.

An outstanding disadvantage of nape type suspensions heretofore providedfor supporting noise suppressing ear cups has been the difliculty inkeeping the ear cups in place on the wearers head and tightly sealedabout his ears sufficiently so as to effectively suppress industrialnoises and the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel nape typesuspension and anchoring means for suspending, in a detachable manner, apair of ear cups for suppressing noises.

A further object of the invention is to provide a unique slot design inthe base plates of the ear cups which enable easy insertion andattachment, as well as easy withdrawal and detachment, of the end loopsof an adjustable headband which fits either across the top of the heador about the nape of the neck or beneath the chin of the wearer.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study ofthe following description, taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of noise suppressing ear cupshaving a suspension embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of one of the cups shown partly broken away and incross-section;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one of the ear cups showing the slotted baseplate thereof; and,

'FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, perspective view of an end portion of theheadband 7.

Referirng more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, numeral 1generally denotes a noise suppressing ear cup or ear muff assemblycomprising a pair of ear cups 2 of rigid material, such as plastic ormetal, which car cups are provided with oval ring shaped base plates 8which are preferably slightly tapered in the direction of the openingtherethrough, as shown more clearly in FIG. 2, having an angle of about6 to 9. Supported on the base plates 8 is a tubular ring for cushion offlexible material, such as rubber or plastic material filled with afluid, such as a liquid or semi-solid pliable or fiowable material, suchas a grease, or with foam.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the manner thatbase plate 8 is slotted for providing an anchor for the end loops 11 ofthe flexible strap or head nited States Patent O band 7. A T-slot isprovided comprising a horizontal slot portion 10 and a vertical slotportion 9, into the latter of which the folded end portion 11 of theheadband 7 is inserted and then opened in the manner shown in FIG. 2 sothat a portion of the end loop 11 enters slot portion 10 and exitsimmediately below slot portion 9, contacting the inner edge opening ofbase plate 8, as shown.

Thus it will be seen that each of the end loops 11 of the headband 7 maybe easily and quickly anchored to its corresponding base plate orremoved therefrom when it is necessary to replace the headband orperhaps the cups. The length of the headband is adjusted by buckles 12.

Rigidly secured to the side edges of the respective ear cups 2 is atelephone headrest type of band comprising a flexible but somewhat rigidtube 3 of arcuate shape into which a strip portion isadapted toadjustably slide, in a well known manner to change the effective arcuatelength, and terminating in adjustably rotatable adjusting means 4 foradjusting the clamping pressure of the ear cups as shown in more detailin US. Pat. No. 3,457,565. The tube 3 is in a plane substantially atright angles to that of headband 7 and serves as a nape strap in theassembly shown in FIG. 1. However, it should be noted that amodification of the assembly of FIG. 1 may be made simply by employingthe tube 3 as the head strap which goes about the top of the head andemploying the flexible head strap 7 as a nape strap. In this event, ofcourse, the ear cups 2 would be rotated from the position shown, wherebythe adjusting means 4 would be located at the top ends of the cups aspresently viewed in FIG. 1.

The outer surfaces of ear cups 2 are preferably coated with a highlypolished, mirror-like metallic coating 2a, such as an aluminized orsilver coating which may be sprayed onto the cups and thus reflect awayradian energy and thereby prevent overheating of the head strap 7, ring8 and the interior parts of the cup 2.

Thus it will be seen that we have provided an efficient suspension fornoise suppressing ear cups or muffs embodying a flexible head strapwhich is also useful as a nape strap or chin strap and which is easilyand quickly anchored to the base plates of the ear cups by inserting thelooped ends thereof through T-shaped slots in the base plates whichcommunicate with the openings of the oval base plate rings; furthermore,we have provided noise suppressing ear cups or muffs which are securelyheld in place in a manner so that the ear cups and their sealingcushions are held firmly about the ears of the wearer and held securelyas well as being comfortable by reflecting away the heat otherwiseabsorbed.

While we have illustrated and described a single specific embodiment ofour invention, it will be understood that this is by way of illustrationonly, and that various changes and modifications may be made within thecontemplation of our invention and within the scope of the followingclaims.

We claim:

1. A headband suspension for suppressing noise comprising a pair ofrigid plastic ear cups, each including a ring-like base plate supportedon the mouth portion of said cup, a T-slot formed in each base plateformed so that the vertical portion of the T communicates directly withthe interior opening of said ring-like base plate, and a headbandincluding end loops inserted in said T slots so that one band portion ofeach end loop is disposed within the horizontal portion of the T slotand another band portion is disposed immediately below the verticalportion of the T slot engaging an edge portion of the interior openingof the ring-like base plate.

2. A headband assembly as recited in claim 1 including a telephone headset type band in a plane substantially at right angles to that of saidheadband and having ends adjustably secured to the side of said cups soas to fit about the nape of the wearers neck.

3. A susepnsion as recited in claim 1 including a heat reflectivemetallic coating on the outer surface of said cups for reflecting awayradiant energy and for maintaining the interior of the cups relativelycool and comfortable to wear.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,216,954 10/1940 McDonOugh 220910 2,444,251 6/1948 Goldman 2209 Maxant 2209 Goldman 2209 Berg 2209Horne 2323 XR Kiefer 2-177 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner

